Cupcakes
by Angel Ren
Summary: As a class project, everyone has been asked to bring something homemade. Only, Edward can't cook. Bella offers to help. Mix in some Emmett, and there's a recipe for disaster! B&E Fluff
1. Ingredients

Summary: Edward bakes cupcakes with Bella and Emmett. There really isn't much more to say, other than I wrote this at 2am. It's the first part of my first multi-part story. I'm not sure how it will go. I appreciate critiques! Thank you all!

Cupcakes

By: Ren

10/04/07 (at 2:17AM)

"Is this really necessary?" Edward's velvet voice was laced with mild irritation. Amusement, however, was the dominant emotion. I sighed slowly, and readied myself for the wave of ocher. After I was sure my face was set into a nice, firm state, I turned my chin up to look into his eyes – and promptly forgot what I was going to say. Stupid vampire.

"Bella?"

"Yes Edward…?"

"You're not breathing again." I quickly tore my gaze from his and let my lungs fill with precious oxygen. I surveyed the Cullen kitchen appraisingly.

"Well, Edward. Do you want to bake your own cupcakes? Or would you like me to do it for you?" I could see his lips press into a thin line out of the corner of my eye. He wasn't happy about this. The thought made me smile.

"I can bake my own cupcakes," he said slowly.

"Can you?" I turned to stare at him pointedly, my eyebrows raised. "You know, one of the most important parts about cooking is being able to taste what you've made. What have you baked recently?" He scowled. I bit my lip to hide my smile. "You're not upset because there's one teeny, tiny, little thing that this pathetic human can do that you can't, are you?" He looked away, and I couldn't keep my smile from widening.

Just as I was turning back to the counter to form a list of groceries that we would need, I heard the front door close softly. Naturally, I didn't even hear the footsteps before I heard the voice. It was something I was growing used to by now.

"Edward's baking?" Emmett's voice was unmistakable. Turning, I saw my bear of an unofficial big brother leaning against the doorway, eyeing the spatula Edward was brandishing in my direction. The two vampires just exchanged long glances. Edward's was cold, marked and dangerous, and Emmett's was, well, Emmett's. He was leaning against the door cheerfully, a spark in his eye, his lips cocked into a grin as if he were trying to think of the best way to goad Edward into a fight.

Calmly, Edward spoke first. "Bella is going to assist me in making… cupcakes." He said the last word with difficulty, as if the idea were embarrassing. Judging his expression, I gathered that Edward would be blushing if he were capable of it.

"Cupcakes, eh?" Emmett sauntered into the kitchen and paused a few feet in front of us, his humorous smile on his face still. I decided to stage an intervention.

"Yes," I spoke, stepping into the conversation again. "See, in one of our classes, everyone in the class was asked to bring something homemade for the bake exchange tomorrow… and… well." Edward just sighed deeply, closing his eyes and putting his fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"It's alright Bella… you can say it," he murmured softly.

"Say what? That Edward can't cook?" Emmett puffed up his chest cheerfully, only to be met with a resounding punch sending him crashing into the far wall. Opening his eyes slowly, Edward eyed his brother.

"I said _Bella_ could say it. Not you." With that, he turned his back on a startled Emmett and looked to me and the counter. "Now. What do we need to get?" His voice had returned to its normal low, velvety purr. Blushing softly, I glanced over the list and the open, nearly-empty cabinets.

"I… made a list. Everything we need is here." Edward smiled slowly as he took the list from my hand and glanced over it briefly.

"This shouldn't take too long," he said.

"Can I come?" Emmett had scooted over and was peering over Edward's shoulder.

"Why do you want to come," Edward asked dangerously.

"Well, Bella's always a riot. I figured there might be entertainment in the grocery store. Please please?" I felt my cheeks flame a hot, red color. Emmett was always so fascinated with my less-than-graceful, completely unintentional, and somehow hysterical human antics. It wasn't exactly comforting, nor promising, to know Emmett wanted to go grocery shopping with Edward and I. I'd probably run the cart into a display or something.

"Of course you can't go." Edward decided for me. I nibbled on my bottom lip. Emmett turned his own gold – though slightly less persuasive – eyes on me and pouted.

"Please Bella? Please can I come? I'll be good, I promise. If you say yes, Edward will _have_ to let me."

"Emmett. That's low, begging Bella and using her against me." Edward was not happy, but how could I tell Emmett no? Knowing that I would probably regret it – as it was inevitable something clumsy would happen – I glanced to Edward and just raised my eyebrows.

"Well, I don't have a problem with it, Edward…"

"Oh all right then!" Edward just threw his hands up into the air, surrendering. "I'll go get the car." Grumbling, he stalked out of the kitchen, still holding the paper with my list scrawled on it.

"Huzzah!" Emmett grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into a big bear hug. I could tell he tried to do it very gently, but it was still a tight squeeze. Why did I have a feeling this was going to end in blushing and embarrassment? Oh. That's right. Because it always did.


	2. Cabbage!

Summary: Edward needs to bake cupcakes for a class project. Bella more than willingly offers to help. Thrown in a pinch of Emmett, and chaos reigns.

Yay part 2. I'm not sure how I feel about a multi-part (they're too small to be chapters, really) series, but it seems to be flowing alright, though not nearly as serious as my other ones, probabaly because I don't have the ending in mine yet. Haha. Any feedback is always appreciated.

Cupcakes

Part 2

By Ren

It hadn't been as difficult – or as dangerous – as I had initially anticipated. Emmett was whistling cheerfully from the backseat of the Volvo the whole way there. Edward was quietly watching the road, on occasion glancing over to smile affectionately at me. I could only blush and snickers would come from the back seat. The trip to the Thriftway passed uneventfully, thankfully.

However, once we stepped out of the car into the cool, light grey mist, my luck ran out. Inadvertently, I stepped into a puddle and lost my balance. A splash later, Emmett was lying across the backseat laughing, and Edward was practically on top of me. His cold hands gently picked me up, his golden eyes searching for any sign of pain or injury.

"I'm fine. Really. Just… wet." And it was true. I had a scrape on my hand from trying to catch myself, but that was all. Even something that significant didn't miss Edward's eyes. He snatched up my hand and pressed the scraped-up palm to his face, kissing the wound softly before letting it drop. Slipping out of his coat, he dropped it around my shoulders before I could protest. After leading me out of the rain and under the overhang, he ushered me inside quietly. Emmett was still in the car chuckling and the idea of leaving him behind didn't seem to bother Edward. In fact, it almost seemed as though Edward wanted to be finished before Emmett caught back up to us.

Once again back on my own turf, I snatched up a shopping basket and marched pointedly down an aisle with Edward gliding gracefully beside me. Baking supplies. I turned to him and smiled sweetly.

"What sort of cupcakes would you like to make?" Edward blinked a couple of times, looking at all the little boxes, reading each label – and probably the nutrition information too – before turning his beautiful gaze back onto me. I could feel my body begin to heat up underneath his watch. He just stared down into my eyes, and all I could do was stare helplessly back like an idiot.

"Hey you two kids, get a room!" A low snarl erupted from Edward right before I snapped out of the Cullen-induced trance. His arms came protectively around me as he glared blackly at the pair of older men who were laughing together as they walked on down the aisle. Apparently teenage love was amusing. Once they had turned the corner, he looked back down at me.

"Chocolate. Definitely chocolate." Slowly, I peeled myself off of his chest against my internal want, and unwillingly fixated my gaze on the wall of pre-mixed powders. Chocolate. Well, it narrowed it down a little bit.

"What sort of chocolate?" Rich, Dark, Creamy, Milky, Swirl, Low Fat, Weight Watchers? They had 2-Point Chocolate cake mix? Was that possible?

"What do you mean what sort?" Edward looked perplexed, glancing from me to the powdery display.

"I mean, 'what sort'." I waved in the general direction of the varying hues of chocolate-colored boxes. Edward stepped closer to inspect them, and then stepped back appraisingly.

"Well…" He spoke slowly and I had to bite my lip to hide a smile. Poor Edward. My dashing, noble prince of a vampire turn-of-the-century gentleman who could execute anything flawlessly beyond the scope of mortal grace was being outdone by a box of instant cupcakes. Fantastic. We mere mortals still had hope. His eyes narrowed in my direction when a choke of a giggle slipped out.

"Sorry." He pretended as if it had never happened.

"What sort of chocolate tastes best?"

"Depends on your preference. It's sort of like heroin." Edward glared dangerously at me for that comment, and I just smiled innocently back. "It's like Grizzly to Lion. All the same, really, but yet different." My grin widened when his eyes darkened slightly. I really was having too much fun, but this opportunity never presented itself to me. Like, ever. "I prefer milk chocolate, but Renee likes dark. Really, everyone who likes chocolate generally likes milk chocolate, so you can't go wrong with that. And even-" He snatched up the box of powder and took my hand without waiting for me to finish, leading me away from the offensive aisle.

The cardboard box thumped lazily into the empty basket. As he toted me along, he drew my hand up to his face, and pressed his icy lips to the back of my hand. The result sent a jolt of electricity though me and made my heart flutter. Edward smirked and did it again, with the same result. Smug, he let my arm fall back to my side, but kept his fingers laced with mine. I followed mutely, flushing brightly as he led the way to the checkout. Weren't we forgetting something…? It was hard to remember, my mind was in an ocher mist right now.

"Oh!" That's right. We needed the wet ingredients.

"What is it?" Edward stopped and turned to look at me, worried at first, but his brow relaxed when he saw nothing wrong.

"We still need some things." Edward frowned in confusion, then picked up the box and looked at it closely.

"Eggs and… cooking oil, right?" I held out my hand for the box to see if he were correct and after glancing over the "Just Add…" part on the back, I nodded in assent.

"Do you have… measuring cups in your kitchen by any chance?"

"Bella. What could we possibly eat that would require measuring cups?"

"…You could make a Mountain Lion Smoothie…"

"Bella!" His face was angry again, but I could sense the amusement lying underneath it. "You really take this too coolly, you know? Couldn't you at least _think_ about the implications of that?"

"Really, Edward. Maybe it isn't that I take it too coolly, maybe you take it too seriously. After all, it's only normal." Edward had a peculiar expression on his face, that sort of intense, studying expression he always got when he was trying to figure something out about me. Time to move alone. I started leading the way towards the dairy section to pick up a dozen eggs – on second thought, maybe a half dozen would be best. I wouldn't use a dozen, and they'd spoil before I ever made anything with them again.

"You're incredible," he purred in my ear after a moment, gliding along right behind me, his hand still laced with mine. I could feel his thumb rubbing gentle circles across the top of my palm, making me blush. As usual. Gliding by the dairy section, I snatched up a half-dozen carton of eggs. I tested each egg to make sure that they were whole and had no cracks. I heard Edward growl, but I was too slow to register why.

"Boogah Boogah!"

I nearly crushed the eggs to my chest in surprise, jumping about a foot into the air. I think I screamed, because people were looking at us, and I would have definitely fallen over if Edward hadn't caught me. I lay curled against Edward's chest protectively, panting a bit, my heart thundering loud enough to shatter my ribs, before I turned to look at a laughter-possessed Emmett. He was clutching his sides and trying to stay standing with Edward letting out low, feral snarls from above me. Gingerly, he righted me on my feet and took the eggs from my death-grasp.

He mimed the same movement I had done previously; checking each egg to make sure it hadn't been damaged by my spaz attack. I glared at Emmett; but he didn't see me – he was laughing too hard.

"If you weren't rock solid I'd punch you right now," I hissed at him and turned away, blushing. I had enough accidents on my own. I didn't need Emmett _causing_ them. Edward seemed to agree. He always did like the words _Bella_ and _safe_ in close proximity to each other, and it seemed that if _Emmett_ was also in close proximity, it negated _safe_.

"I'll punch him for you later," Edward promised, is cool voice velvety soft and seductive. Emmett now looked interested, and he calmed his laughing fit to just regard us smugly. Emmett's expression changed slightly, but I was the only one who seemed to notice.

Edward's cool fingers took my chin and stole all of my concentration. His eyes were so warm; I could feel my cheeks burning. All I wanted to do was kiss him. Nothing else mattered. I felt his other hand lace with mine and take something from my grasp as my fingers opened. …What was he doing? Was I holding something? I relinquished it easily, and closed my eyes as he leaned closer.

Cold lips brushed so gently across mine, it was like a frozen butterfly. How could something so cold and so… unalive… make me feel so… well, alive? My heart thundered in my chest, blush invading my cheeks. Involuntarily, I stepped closer to him, and put both my arms around his body.

Edward uncharacteristically jerked away and I heard an unusual squishing sound. I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of times to clear the haze. Something was shaking. What was that loud noise? I looked over and saw Emmett on the floor, laughing. That was the noise. Curiously, I turned back to Edward. Edward was the picture of cold fury. He stared quietly down at Emmett as if he were imagining all the different ways to dismember and burn his sibling because there, perched atop his beautiful head, was a cabbage. Not just perched, no, _smashed into_. Edward held out his hand towards me, and he was holding my shopping basket. When did that happen?

"Here, Bella. You almost dropped the eggs when I kissed you." Oh. Blushing furiously, I took the basket from him and stepped back so he could try and clean himself. I glanced down, nibbling on my bottom lip, trying to think of something to say. It's not every day an intimate kiss with your vampire boyfriend gets interrupted by his brother throwing a cabbage at his head with enough force to shatter my frail, human body into a thousand tiny pieces. However, it did happen more often than normal for me. Thankfully, no one had actually _seen_ him throw it. The people staring now had only seen the aftermath. "Is there anything else we need? For the cupcakes?" I glanced up, Edward was speaking quietly, quickly. I had to listen closely to understand.

"Cooking oil," I answered. Where did the cabbage go? It was just gone. I looked around, searching for it on the ground somewhere; on top of Emmett, but it was nowhere to be found. I started to walk towards the aisle where the oil was held, but Edward stopped me.

"Bella, I'll get the oil. Why don't you go get whatever you'd like to decorate my cupcakes with?" Emmett burst out laughing, and Edward glared, snarling at him. "That wasn't supposed to be like _that_!"

"Decorate – ha ha – Bella's going to decorate – heh heh – your cupcakes…Ha!" Emmett could hardly make a coherent sentence, he was laughing so hard. I just flamed bright, bright red. If I didn't have a shopping basket in one hand, I would've covered my face with both hands. I tried to do a sufficient job with one, but failed. Edward's lips pursed. I was sure Emmett realized that because Edward wasn't doing anything now meant he was going to really initiate payback in the shelter of the Cullen home. Maybe that's what Emmett was counting on.

"I'll… go get the stuff." I turned and walked off as quickly as I could, I swear my whole body felt like it was blushing. I couldn't hear anything they said any longer, if anything at all.

I wandered down the baking aisle again to where all the spreads, sprinkles, and frostings were. Chocolate cupcakes… vanilla frosting! Those would go nicely together. Anything to distract me from decorating Edward's cupcakes. I took down a can of whipped vanilla frosting, a tube of frosting and some colored candied sprinkles. On my way out of the aisle, I grabbed a set of measuring cups all hooked together on a plastic ring. Mixing bowl? I thought about it. I _had _seen mixing bowls in their kitchen, and Edward had been playing with the spatula. So only the measuring cups. Carrying them with the ring looped over my pinky, I carefully returned to my vampires.

Emmett and Edward were just staring at each other quietly and as soon as I was close enough, Edward turned and swept the things out of my hands, depositing them neatly into the basket. There, also inside the basket, was a bottle of cooking oil.

"Anything else, Bella?" I shook my head, and without even looking at Emmett, he took my hand and led me toward the checkout. Making quick work of the ingredients, he towed me toward the car, shopping bag in hand. He opened the passenger side door to the Volvo and I slipped inside, folding my hands in my lap. After depositing the bag in the trunk, he swiftly maneuvered into the driver's side.

"Where's Emmett?" Emmett hadn't left the store yet. He was still inside, doing Lord-knows-what.

"Don't care." He cranked the Volvo, and it purred to life. With a squeal, the car went flying out of the parking lot and was homebound, sans Emmett.

"What about Emmett," I persisted stupidly. Edward gave me a cool gaze.  
"He can run home." A smile quirked at his lips. "Besides, I'd rather be alone with you than be pelted with cabbage." I blushed brightly and I suddenly remembered the cabbage had vanished.

"Where did it go? The cabbage, I mean?" Edward's eyes suddenly had a sparkle in them. He smiled mysteriously and slowly looked back out the windshield. We continued the drive home, the heavy silence broken only by the erratic rhythm of my heart.


	3. Cabbage's Revenge

Critiques always welcomed.

_Cupcakes_, part 3

By Ren

Stumbling through the door, I peered around the empty kitchen expecting Emmett to be standing nearby. No dice. I stepped out of the way as Edward glided around me, toting the plastic bag heavied with our cupcake-making ingredients.

After emptying the bag and setting everything out, he picked up the box and started reading the directions. Swiftly he moved to a door and opened it, peering into a very, very sparse panty. I gasped softly; the pantry was any cook's dream. There were so many shelves, so many places to put things and organize things, it actually made my heart crack slightly to know such a beautiful kitchen was wasted in a house full of vampires.

Edward took down a couple of bowls from the one shelf that held a few very basic things. The spatula still lay innocently on the counter. Tearing my eyes away from the beautiful pantry, I stepped back from the counter as Edward approached. He held out the bowl to me. I just stared at him.

"Aren't you going to start?" Beautiful velvet.

"No. You're baking. I'm _helping._ So get to it." He just froze and stared at me, assessing if I were serious or not. And I was. I still had lemon squares to bake when I got home.

"So… what do I do?" I bit my lip to keep from smiling, and gestured to the box of powder.

"There are directions on the box. Just read them and follow." Edward looked warily away from me and glided to the counter where he picked up the box. He smoothly scanned over the directions, then opened the box and poured the powder into a bowl. He measured out the oil and water, but hesitated with the eggs. "Bella?"

"Yes?" I stepped over beside him to watch his progress.

"I… don't think I can crack the eggs… without shattering the shell." Oh. I hadn't thought of that. The idea sent a soft shiver through me – I wasn't a whole lot more sturdy than the eggshells when compared to vampire strength. Without a word, I took the two eggs from his slender, cold fingers and snapped them smartly on the side of the bowl. Peeling back the shell, I let the goop drip into the bowl and repeated the process for the second. Sticking a wire-whisk into the bowl, I stepped back and handed the bowl to him.

"Mix."

"Done." I blinked.

"What?"

"Finished. It says 'mix by hand for 300 strokes, or until batter is smooth without lumps.' " I peered over the rim of the bowl, and sure enough, everything was finely blended.

"Well… that… didn't take long…" Edward just cracked his devastating half-smile in my direction in response. Glancing away, I looked around the antique'd kitchen. I stared at the oven, contemplating, and then pointed. "Does it work?" Edward just glanced down at me and shrugged.

"Let's find out?" I swallowed heavily. Was he serious? I wasn't even sure I knew how to work an oven that old.

"You know, for money not being an issue, I'd think you'd have an up-to-date kitchen."  
"Bella, no one really needs the kitchen, and on the off-chance a visitor came by, they wouldn't really come into the kitchen, much less inspect our oven."

"But this looks like it came from the 18th century!"

"It probably did." And he expected me to somehow bake instant, 21st-Century cupcakes in it. Stupid vampire.

"Okay, well, since that's sort of _your_ era, why don't _you_ turn it on? Besides, if it blows up, you're indestructible."

"Fire, remember?" I rolled my eyes. Somehow, I didn't think it would be quite as bad as being dismembered and ignited. His eyes were watching me curiously, a sparkle in their ocher depths.

"Okay, fine, I'll try and turn this behemoth on." Carefully I approached the old chunk of iron. Edward watched me from a careful distance, amused.

"You don't really think it will explode, do you?" Suddenly, he sounded worried, and started to step forward. "I've never heard of ovens exploding before… if there is a chance, then maybe I should…"

"Edward, ovens don't _explode_. Not unless you put gunpowder in them. I can turn it on." First we fought over who didn't turn it on. Now we were fighting over protecting the other one. Incredible. Edward bit down on his bottom lip, watching me nervously as I turned away to inspect the oven. "Actually, Edward… maybe you should turn it on."

"Why's that? Do you think it will-"

"Not explode. I just don't know how. I only know how to work modern appliances." Edward nodded and walked over and leaned over the oven, carefully placing his nearly-indestructible body between me and a potentially lethal piece of iron. His quick, cold hands fiddled with it, starting up the fire. We watched, and waited, leaning over the warm iron. Waiting to see if it would work, waiting to see if it would…

"Boom!"

My heart stopped. The ground rushed up to meet me. I was sure there would be fire everywhere. Edward! Was he alright? Would the fire hurt him? My head swam as my heart pounded erratically. And then, I felt something cold on my face. Maybe it was death. I always thought when you burned to death, it would be hot.

"Bella? Bella are you alright?" The room was shaking but I could hear Edward's voice. Hands. They were Edward's hands on my face, on my neck, pressing against the upper part of my chest. Why was the floor still shaking? "Bella, please breathe… take slow, deep breaths." I obeyed. Air felt nice, nice and cool against my burning lungs. I tried to tell him I was okay, I wasn't burning anymore. I choked out a soft laugh.

"What about the earthquake..?" Shouldn't we be going somewhere? I heard Edward sigh in relief, then let out a very dangerous growl.

"Hell, Emmett, you nearly scared Bella to death!" I opened my eyes slowly. Emmett? I was laying on my back on the ground near the oven – it was still in one piece – and Edward was kneeling over me. My blouse was partially unbuttoned, although not indecently, and his hands were poised over my chest. Turning my head to the side, I saw Emmett on the ground in a fit of laughter. So that explained the 'earthquake.' Edward was still seething.

"Emmett! And what would we have done if her heart had stopped!? It nearly did!" Emmett sat up slowly, smirking.

"You could always do CPR… you were getting ready to."

"That was an involuntary reaction. You know I can't really give her CPR. I don't think… I could control my strength enough…"

"Then you could always bite her." Edward glanced down at me one quick time to make sure I was in stable condition. Swiftly, he planted a kiss on my forehead, and then leapt to his feet. Snatching a frying pan out of the nearly-empty panty, he crashed into Emmett. A loud clanking was heard – I was sure it was the frying pan and Emmett's skull. I covered my ears with my hands and waited for them to finish, closing my eyes tightly.

The next thing I was aware of was a cold pair of hands over my own hands on my ears, and slowly I opened my eyes. Edward was leaning towards me, his hands gently taking my own off of my ears.

"Bella? Bella are you alright?" I nodded softly, letting him take my hands into his. He leaned forward and brushed a kiss against my lips. I smiled weakly up at him, and his lips broke into that crooked grin that made my heart skip. I could feel the blush flaming across my cheeks.

Peeking around him carefully, I saw Emmett casually nudging a piece of metal with his toe. He seemed to be in tact, however…

"Is that… the _frying pan_!?" Emmett glanced up to meet my bewildered gaze. He smiled sheepishly – like a little boy getting caught doing something wrong. He picked up the twisted piece of metal and twirled it between his fingers effortlessly, as if it weighed nothing. To him, it probably did.

"Was. _Was_ the frying pan. Edward has to explain this to Esme now."

"It's your face mushed into the metal. I don't see why I have to explain."

"You're the one who put it there!" Emmett just shook his head and laughed softly, pushing up onto the counter so he was sitting, watching us on the floor. After a moment, he pointed to the oven behind us. "Oven works. Gonna bake the cupcakes?" Edward snorted, irritated at being reminded of how I came to nearly die on the floor. Together, Edward and I stood up and moved back to the counter. Edward kept throwing Emmett dangerous looks, but Emmett remained completely innocent-looking, perched on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth.

"What is it," I asked Edward. Edward lowered his lips down to my ear and spoke so softly that I really had to concentrate, even at such close range.

"He's singing _Yankee Doodle_ in his head. That means he's either thought of something he doesn't want me to know, or he's trying to plan something." His voice was like velvet against my skin. I blushed softly.

"Oh. Well, let's at least get the cupcakes into the oven before Esme kills us all. No, no wait!" I caught Edward's hand as he started to spoon the batter into the cake pan. He glanced down at me perplexed. "You'll never get the cupcakes out if you don't put the paper wrapper in first. Here." I took out the stack of wrappers and plucked one and stuffed it into the hole he was about to drop a spoonful of mix into. "Now pour, but only halfway."

We progressed like that; I would place the wrapper, he would pour the batter, until all twelve in the pan were half-full. Then I picked up the pan and set it inside the oven.

"I have no idea how long to bake them in that archaic thing. We'll just have to peek on them every once in a while." Edward nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Emmett quietly, a hint of amusement on his features. They just stared at each other for a moment before Emmett's eyes dropped to mine.

"I'm bored," he whined. "Let's do something fun."

"Such as?" Edward's voice was laced with warning; he still seemed annoyed. Not that I blamed him.

"Well, Bella's always curious, right?" I gulped. Was I? He was watching Edward carefully – that made me even more nervous. After judging that Edward wasn't going to attack him for his thoughts, his eyes dropped back to mine again, smirking playfully. "Ever shot a shotgun before?"

"Absolutely _not!_" Edward was practically snarling at Emmett. I wasn't sure which was more terrifying: Edward snarling and feral at my side, or the prospect of holding, aiming, and pulling the trigger on a loaded weapon. Emmett shrugged.

"Just askin'. What do _you_ two do for fun, then?" Edward's rapidly changing expressions were almost comical. They would've been, if they weren't so dire. He went from black rage to white sheen – if vampires could have a sheen, that is. Either way, Edward's pale face went even paler and his ocher eyes widened incredulously.

"Not _that._" Emmett laughed, quite loudly. He glanced away from Edward and looked down at me, a different expression on his face. It was softer than before, the devilish amusement was gone. It was… well, brotherly and affectionate. Protective, even.

"Of course not… not Bella..." His voice was unusually quiet and subdued; a faint hint of a sincere smile on his lips. Curious, I looked up at Edward.

"What was he thinking to you?" Edward was still staring at Emmett starkly.

"You don't want to know," Edward spoke through tight lips and clenched teeth. That seemed to rattle Emmett from his uncharacteristically serious mood. He chuckled.

"Well you know Rose an' me-"

"That's _quite_ enough."

"Of course." He was still smirking. I was starting to gather what he was talking about and looked away before they smelled the blush rising on my cheeks. Cupcakes. Cupcakes. Think only of cupcakes. Not about Rosalie and Emmett, not about decorating Edward's cupcakes – I couldn't stop the blush and I just winced when both boys turned curious looks on me. I tried to busy myself with the cupcakes and pretend I didn't notice. I was so grateful Edward couldn't read my mind, though I was sure if I looked to him now he would have that deeply unsatisfied look on his face: the one that distinctly said he wished he _could_ read my mind. Like I needed another way to be humiliated.

I opened the oven door slowly and peeked inside. The little mini-cakes were starting to rise, but nowhere near finished.

"Well, I'd say they have another twenty minutes or so… what would you like to do until then," I asked as I closed the oven door and turned around to face them after carefully composing my face. Emmett started to say something, but then stopped. He sniffed the air.

"Why does… it smell?" Smell? Inconspicuously, I sniffed myself and heard Edward chuckle at my side. "It smells like… cabbage." Emmett's eyes suddenly locked onto Edward, a wide sort of terror locked in their depths. "No. You didn't…"

Edward only casually shrugged. In the time it took me to blink, the door was swinging closed and Emmett was gone.

"What… just happened?" I heard a howl resembling a wounded bear echo from outside.

"Emmett just realized where the cabbage went." He leaned down and kissed my forehead, wrapping his arms around my waist. He was leaning casually against the counter, and seemed quite content to take advantage of our Emmett-less situation. Who was I to object? I snuggled closer.

"And where was the cabbage?" I closed my eyes as he pressed his lips gently over each of my eyelids, touching kisses along my cheek… my jaw… and then my lips. Seconds later, he broke the kiss only long enough to whisper to me.

"His jeep."


	4. Hostage

Thank you all for the lovely reviews! It makes me happy to know people actually read my crap.

Cupcakes, part four

By Ren

I don't recall how long we had been like this: Edward's arms around me, my arms around his neck, our lips quite… occupied. Despite the obvious oddity of the statement, I felt completely… right, and whole, snuggled into the arms of a man whose heart had rested physically and emotionally for nearly eighty years, and now beat figuratively again for me, and only me.

His lips slowly pulled up from mine but hovered a breath away. I leaned closer, wanting to feel those stone cold lips once more. He chuckled softly – his sweet breath blew across my face and tussled the thin strands of hair framing my visage.

"Bella… you need to learn to breathe." Right. Breathing. I suppose it was important to me. …for now. I took a slow deep breath and unwillingly opened my eyes to stare up into his. Edward's playful, crooked smile stole my breath away and made my heart stutter slightly. His eyes, however, were far more intense than his playful smile. His eyes gave everything away; his longing, his desire, his hunger and even his thirst when it was present. Right now, it was not. His golden eyes harbored hunger though, hunger for the body of a woman. One woman: me. It made my knees go weak.

Gently, he lowered his lips to my forehead, brushing them across my skin, cooling it – and igniting a raging blush on my cheeks at the same time. My eyelids closed as I savored every aspect about him. His hands on my waist; his touch, his scent… Slowly, his lips trailed down; they pressed against my temple, then my cheekbone, down to my jaw, up to my nose… and then he kissed my lips softly again. A flutter of a kiss – a butterfly kiss. He planted two more on my face; one upon each closed eyelid.

"Edward…?" I don't think I was very coherent, but he seemed to understand just the same. He answered my own slurred syllables with a low 'Mmm?' noise, seemingly undistracted from his feather-kisses.

"What's… burning…?" Again, I murmured, only faintly aware of anything outside my little bubble. Everything in my bubble demanded my utmost attention, and for the time being, 'everything in my bubble' was defined as Edward Cullen.

"Kind of… smells like cupcakes…" He kept right on kissing me; as completely undisturbed as I was by the scent of burning something. Burning cupcakes.

"The cupcakes!" I shrieked loudly, startling us both from our bubble. Edward looked away from me toward the oven. I had no choice but to peel my eyes away from him to address the current emergency as well. Detangling myself from Edward, I scrambled over to the oven.

I'll admit, it was stupid, as were most things I executed without thinking. Sometimes the things I did were stupid _despite_ thinking. Thoughtlessly, I pulled open the door and reached inside just as Edward cried out a warning.

"Bella!" But I had already grabbed the metal pan with the cupcakes and almost instantly felt a searing pain rush from my fingertips up through my forearm to my upper arm and shoulder. On instinct, I dropped the hot metal pan. I think I cried out in pain – a scream, maybe a shriek, I don't remember. My thoughts were blurred by the fire in my arm; it was even making my shoulder ache.

Then, it was cool. Just like that. I opened my eyes slowly. Through the tears, I could make out Edward clasping my hand between his two cold palms. I sniffled and smiled weakly as I wiped away the tears with my good hand.

Edward's worried expression didn't fade, even as I smiled in spite of the dulling pain.

"Bella…? Does it still hurt? Are you alright? What were you _thinking_!?"

"…I wasn't. Obviously," I said dryly. Edward let out a low, relieved chuckle, and then leaned forward. He kissed my cheek and pulled back, taking with his kiss the last of my tears.

Slowly, he started to pull his palms away. Quickly, I averted my eyes. I did _not_ want to see what my hand – my right hand, my dominant hand! – would look like. I could feel Edward turn it over in his hands, brushing his fingers over it. I winced slightly. I was sure there would be blisters. At the least.

"…well?" I was afraid of the answer. "What's the damage?" I glanced to Edward, careful not to look at my upturned palm in his hands. His golden eyes rose to meet mine, a faint smile on his lips. I felt his cold hands close around mine again.

"It's not bad. Not bad at all. For someone who's such a danger magnet, you sure are lucky in spite of it. Still, I think Carlisle should look at it. Here, when he gets home. We don't have to go to the hospital. Unless you want to?"

"No! Not at all! But we don't need to trouble him with my stupid klutzy self."

"Bella, be reasonable. Please. For me. You sure have a knack for nearly giving me a heart attack – it's quite a feat, I assure you." I made a dramatic show of rolling my eyes before I consented, just so he would know how much I disapproved.

"Fine. But the cupcakes… I dropped… where are… they?" Edward pointed over to the counter with his head. There, sitting innocently, upright and perfectly untouched, was the tray of cupcakes. "…how?"

"I caught it. It didn't burn _me_. Well, I didn't really hold it long enough to let it, even if it could."

"Oh." I nibbled on my bottom lip nervously.

"Shall we make a new batch? We need more than twelve, don't we?" He tilted his head to the side curiously. I nodded in assent. Before I could protest, he had disappeared from my side, and then appeared within a few seconds holding a white cloth. "Let me see your hand, Bella."

I eyed the thin scrap dangerously.

"…What for..?" Edward sighed with exasperation.

"We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Which way would you like to do it?" I could feel my lips press into a thin line; Edward's lips quirked into a smirk in response. With another exaggerated sigh, I thrust out my hand towards him. Before I could change my mind, he had neatly wrapped my wounded hand in the thin cloth and tied it gently. "Not too tight, is it?"

"Not at all."

"And it won't fall off?"

"Only if I can help it," I muttered. Edward laughed and wound his arm around my waist, leaning down to kiss my cheek before leading me to the counter. Hesitantly, I poked the metal tray. Metal was amazing. It could absorb heat quickly, but just the same, it gave it off quickly. The metal was just slightly above room temperature now. Despite expecting it, I was still surprised that I had burned my hand on it a mere few minutes ago.

Edward began at one end and I, the other. Together, we worked to the middle, carefully lifting the little cupcakes in their paper wrappers out of the tray, and setting them neatly onto a plate. The cupcakes, although in a quickly-cooling tray, were still quite warm. They couldn't be frosted until they had cooled, otherwise the frosting would turn to liquid and run off. I explained this effect to Edward as we did our routine. I placed the paper cups, he poured the batter.

I guessed we would have enough batter for maybe another two dozen after this set, giving us close to forty-eight cupcakes. That would be plenty for class. I wondered what would happen to the extras.

Once finished, Edward pointedly took the tray from my hands and proceeded to the oven and set it inside. I sighed. I wasn't stupid enough to burn myself twice. And I had burned my hand taking the tray _out_, not putting it in, in my defense. Shutting the door, he turned to look at me speculatively.

"You don't have any idea how long those took, do you? Even though they smelled like they were on fire, they turned out perfect." I had to agree with him; they were a light golden-brown; the perfect consistency. I had performed the toothpick test, only I had had to use a knife. The Cullens didn't have much use for toothpicks – the idea made me chuckle, much to Edward's frustration - and I hadn't thought to get any at the store. I slid the knife down through the center of the cupcake from the top and then pulled it straight back out. The rule of thumb was if the knife came out clean, they were cooked through. If dough stuck to it, they were too gooey and needed to cook longer. The knife had been spotless.

"I have no idea. I was a bit distracted, you know. I'd guess maybe… half an hour?" He nodded as he picked up a timer and started pressing buttons on it. "We can always check them after that, anyway, and leave them longer if they aren't finished."

Edward turned his attention on the front door. Even I heard it; but only when I listened carefully: the soft 'thud' of the front door closing. If Edward hadn't been listening so obviously, I wouldn't have bothered to strain my ears to try to listen, too, and I would've missed the sound.

"Carlisle's home," he said at last. He turned his soft golden gaze down at me. I melted, just like frosting on a hot cupcake. "Shall we go pay him a visit? He's in his office." As much as I wanted to tell him no, to say I was fine, all I could do was nod like an idiot. Stupid dazzling.

Edward took my good hand in his, laced his fingers with mine and tugged my dazed body out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and led me up the stairs. We went down another familiar hallway, past that antiqued cross, and paused in front of a door. Edward knocked on it softly.

"Come in," Carlisle spoke softly from within. I let out a soft groan as Edward opened the door and pulled my reluctant self inside.

"Bella burned her hand and I was wondering if you would look at it – against her wishes, I might add – and just make sure it's alright." The doctor was seated behind his desk, some books open in front of him. I wondered vaguely how many times he had read them. Edward tugged me into the room by my good hand, and then took my bandaged one.

Carlisle reached for it, and surrendering, I sank into the chair across from him. I let him take my hand across the desk and slowly begin unwrapping Edward's bandage. I felt his cold fingers press gingerly into my palm, touching places I imagined were burned. I couldn't tell because his fingers were so cold. Were a human doctor doing the same, my hand would probably be burning beneath the touch. Despite what Jacob thought, there _were_ perks to being with the vampires. Especially for the accident-prone like myself. Edward could be my personal icepack if he wanted to.

The silence dragged on. After a moment, I glanced up to see Edward staring at Carlisle. Once in a while, Carlisle would glance up to Edward and Edward would either close his eyes and open them, or press his lips into a thin line. They were carrying on a conversation without me. Uhg. Even with the perks, there were some disadvantages. Like Edward's gift. I sighed. Carlisle glanced to me suddenly, then he looked a bit sheepish.

"Sorry Bella," he spoke slowly, then turned his attention down to my hand again. "Your hand seems to be fine. It will probably be a little tender for a while, but Edward was right. There's no serious damage. Your human instincts kicked in after you grabbed the pan, at least. You dropped it before it damaged the tissue." I laughed dryly.

"At least my instincts work _half_ the time, right?" I felt Edward tense beside me slightly. Carlisle just smiled honestly.

"Really, Bella. You should think higher of yourself." I glanced away as I blushed. "But about your hand. Would you like an icepack for a bit? At least until the burn cools?" I couldn't help but look back to him and grin.

"Thank you, but I think I have that covered," I said. I looked to Edward as I took his hand gently with my burnt one. His hand closed gently around mine before he brought it up to his lips, placing a single kiss on each of my fingertips. My heart stuttered with each kiss. It was even more embarrassing in front of Carlisle.

Lowering our hands but not yet relinquishing mine, Edward guided me to the door. Eager to change the subject, and hopefully dispel my crimson blush, I tried to revert the conversation to the first thing I could think of.

"What were you talking about? With Carlisle?" Edward glanced down to me and smiled faintly.

"He was scolding me for smearing cabbage all over the inside of Emmett's jeep. He was pretty upset," Edward chuckled darkly, clearly not at all ashamed of his actions.

"Really? That was all?" Edward just nodded, still smirking. "We should check the cupcakes. They might be done soon." Edward nodded absentmindedly, his expression changed now from devious to thoughtful. I watched his expression as I walked along beside him, our hands still together. He had a very far-away expression on his face. Was he listening to someone?

"What is it," I pressed him. He just shook his head in response.

"I don't know… yet."

As soon as we entered the kitchen, I could tell Edward knew then. There, where our plate of beautiful, perfect, made-with-tender-love-and-care cupcakes had rested was, instead, a plate with… something else.

Edward was at the counter where the plate was in a heartbeat, holding a note in his hands. Within a second, he'd read it, and was handing it to me. As soon as I took it, he had opened the oven to see if the second batch of cupcakes were still there. They, too, were gone, along with the bowl of unbaked batter. The note was short and to the point:

"If you ever want to see your cupcakes again…. I don't know, I'll think of something later. But I have them! Hahaha!

Please see Rosalie for the ransom arrangements, and have a nice day."

What the…? And what was that _smell!?_ I glanced over to the plate. Something mushy and green and white was sitting there in a pile.

"Edward… what _is_ that? It smells gross. Like a rotting vegetable." Edward's nose wrinkled slightly. My beautiful god resembled a destroying angel at the moment, as he glared at the greenish-whitish mush. Through tight lips and clenched teeth, Edward uttered one word that sent the paper in my hands fluttering to the floor.

"Cabbage."


	5. Principle

Hooray! Thank you all for the reviews. I really appreciate it. I had no idea so many people read my stuff. It's pretty cool. Here's part five, sorry it took so long. Go, go college! There is an end in sight. When I started writing this, I had no idea how I would end it, or when. I think I will be wrapping it up by part seven if not part six. Thanks so much! (PS, expect more fluff in part six (and seven if neccessary))

Cupcakes Part 5

By Ren

Edward was pacing. He had been pacing for several minutes. At first I had tried pacing beside him but I had grown tired with my human fatigue. Now, I sat cross-legged on the sofa watching him pace instead. I fiddled with the hem of my blue jeans absentmindedly. I knew Edward well enough to know he would stop when he figured something out. When that would be, though, I didn't know. And we needed the cupcakes for class tomorrow. I sighed deeply and Edward paused in his pacing and looked over to me. His pensive face softened and he walked over, sitting down next to me on the sofa.

"I'm sorry, Bella."

"You know, Edward, based on the speed you drive, we could have gone to the store, gotten more cupcake mix, and put more in the oven by now." I smiled dryly.

"I know. But it's the principle of the thing."

"You reek of cabbage." He grimaced.

"I threw it out; at least, there shouldn't be anymore cabbage." I sighed.

"So now what do we do?" Here, Edward's eyes turned amused. I felt my heart flutter faintly and his crooked smile only widened.

" 'We' don't do anything," he purred, watching me.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Honestly, I was so tired of having to stay put. It was never 'we' it was always 'Edward.' Not because Edward was selfish in that regard, but because 'I', or better defined as weak, slow human, couldn't physically do what he needed done. Infuriating.

"Actually, _you_, are going to go talk with Emmett. I will find Rosalie." Er, me? Had he really said that?

"Me? Go find Emmett?"

"Yes. He adores you, like a little sister. Besides, if I went after him, he'd destroy the cupcakes."

"And why can't we just make more?"

"Principle." Of course. I sighed. Edward and his principles. "Emmett's in his room. Good luck." He kissed my temple and vanished, probably running to find Rosalie in the garage before she could escape. Grumbling, I trudged up the stairs. I knew he would hear me coming. He better. Angry grizzlies had nothing on this. I paused outside his door and raised my fist to pound on it. Before my fist could come into contact with it, however, the door swung open and Emmett stood there, smirking at me. Slowly, I lowered my hand down to my side.

"Hey, Bella," he grinned.

"Emmett, can I please, please, please have the cupcakes back? Pretty please?" I begged mercilessly, and I looked ridiculous, I was sure. Emmett just stared at me, shocked. A bellowing laughter erupted from him and he sank into a chair, gesturing for me to come inside the room. I did and glared at him, waiting for him to finish laughing. When he finished, he leaned back in his chair to study me. After carefully composing his face, he answered me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Right. Emmett was a worse liar than me. If I could see through him, then he was terrible.

"Emmett… please?" Before Emmett could respond, Edward had appeared in the doorway, his beautiful golden eyes absolutely livid. Destroying angel. His lip was curled back and he was positively snarling at Emmett. I cringed away from him and Emmett only raised his eyebrows indicatively.

"Yes, Edward? Did you need something wittle bruddah? I- ow! Ow! Ow!" I blinked. In a very narrow time, Edward had gone from crouched in the doorway to on top of Emmett. In that same amount of time, Emmett had gone from taunting Edward to uttering explicatives. I knew Emmett was colorful, but he was redefining colorful at the moment. Because Edward's motion took him by surprise, it took a full minute for Emmett to retaliate against his 'younger' brother. I just stared, frozen in shock, eyes wide. Edward was really upset about something. Something that was so bad, it caused him to deviate from his original plan. Emmett was quickly realizing this wasn't a friendly tussle.

"Whoa whoa… hey Edward, calm for a minute…"

"You-put-icing-inside-my-Volvo!" Edward was hissing out each word through gnashing teeth. I gasped; surely Emmett hadn't been that careless.

"Don't worry, the cupcakes are still alive. I just used the icing. Payback's a bitch." Emmett was matching Edward's strength now. Edward was the faster of the two, but not the stronger. Emmett was winning. And it was infuriating Edward even more.

"Emmett you idiot… do you know how difficult icing will be to remove?"

"Cabbage wasn't too easy, you know."

"But cabbage is _solid_. There is icing rubbed _into_ the upholstery. My leather seats!" I hopped up and moved over to them slowly. Edward's eyes glanced toward me, and he shook his head. "No, Bella. Go back." I backed away as he liked, and just watched, worried, as the boys continued to struggle. Finally tired of the game, Emmett tossed Edward onto the sofa. Before he rebounded back to his burly brother, Emmett held up his hands.

"Okay, okay. You're right. I… didn't realize it would be so bad. I'll clean it up, don't worry." Edward sank dangerously into the sofa; his eyes never leaving Emmett. I sighed. I was glad they were finished fighting. Emmett glanced over to me. He looked amused and eyed my hand speculatively.

"So… what happened to Bella? Did she fall in the oven or something?" I choked, and Edward snarled softly. "Oh my God! You really _did_ fall in the oven!" He stared at me incredulously, and I just blushed madly, hiding my hand.

"Not… exactly," I said through gritted teeth.

"Only you, Bella," Emmett laughed, then quickly grew quiet with Edward's dangerous look. He coughed softly. I felt my cheeks flame slightly. I decided to try again.

"Please, Emmett? Can we have the cupcakes back?" I tried to pout; I batted my eyelashes a bit and watched him through their lengths, tucked out my bottom lip slightly. It seemed to work; Emmett looked apologetic at least.

"Sorry, Bella… I actually don't have them." I can't believe he had the nerve to say that.

"Emmett we know you-" Edward cut me off before I could finish.

"Actually, he's right. He doesn't have them anymore." I glanced at Edward, startled.

"Then who has-"

"Alice," Edward and Emmett said in unison. What was it with these vampires not letting me finish my sentences? Was it because I spoke too slowly for their taste? Whatever the reason, it was irritating. I pressed my lips closed tightly to keep from saying something I'd regret.

Alice. Alice had them. Why would Alice have them? And what about Rosalie?

"What about Rosalie?" I voiced my last question out loud. Emmett just shrugged.

"Rose never had anythin' to do with the cupcakes. I was hopin' Edward would go after her – which he did – and see the Volvo, and you'd come see me. You're so much fun, Bella," Emmett beamed, quite proud of himself that his somewhat shallow plan had worked. Edward just rolled his eyes.

"What does Alice want for the cupcakes, then?" Edward kept glancing around the room as he spoke. "Since she won't tell me with her mind?"

"What's she thinking?" I looked at Edward, and he slowly lowered his gaze to mine.

"_…I feel pretty… Oh so pretty…_" Both Emmett and I started laughing in unison; it was quite funny to see Edward mime Alice's voice. He glared at Emmett, but not me. I wondered why she would be thinking that. Emmett was just grinning like an idiot. Edward's temper was rising with Emmett's mounting amusement.

Without warning, Edward's face softened into an unemotional shell. I stared at it, worried. Was he angry? Was he so angry he was trying to hide it? What was he thinking? I nibbled on my bottom lip. Could what Emmett was thinking be that bad? I looked over to Emmett, and he was staring at me, a wide smirk on his face. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Why did I feel like this wouldn't bode well for me?

I looked up to Edward next, and he, too, was now staring down at me. I could see in his eyes what I couldn't on his face: he was fighting with amusement and anger. I was definitely missing something.

"Okay, will someone tell me what Emmett just thought that's so damn amusing and somehow has to do with me?" My irritation was rising now. Emmett started to speak, but Edward cut him off. He caught my chin and turned my face so I could look at nothing but his eyes. Smoldering.

"Bella?" His voice was sweet and low. I felt a thud in my chest and I thought I heard Emmett chuckle.

"Y-yes?" I squeaked at the very end, hardly breathing. I _know_ I heard Emmett chuckle that time.

"What would you do for our precious, innocent, defenseless cupcakes?"

"Uh…" Coherent thought anyone? Edward's gaze left me powerless.

"What would you do for me?" That was an easy question to answer, and he already knew it. Why was he asking…? Something told me I should be able to reason through this, but his cheating gaze was ruining any chance at that.

"Anything…" I could barely speak; the answer came out in a whoosh of air. Emmett was definitely sniggering. I should be worried, but I couldn't bring myself to care at this moment.

"Right… Anything. You know how much I'm concerned about principle, right?" I still couldn't figure out where this was going. I felt like it should be obvious.

"A lot…"

"Right. And you know I would do anything for principle… and you would do anything for me, right? So naturally, you would do anything for principle. Right?" What had he just said? I blinked dizzily. It sounded about right.

"Sure." I wasn't sure what I was agreeing to. His crooked smile lit up his face.

"Anything, right?" Why was he qualifying this? Why did I feel like I was getting backed into a corner? I should be suspicious. And he was cheating. This so wasn't fair.

"Anything," I repeated without thinking about it.

"Well, Alice has our poor cupcakes… and you need to be brave and get them back. Will you do that for me?"

"Of course." Anything for Edward. I felt my heart flutter. Did it bother me I couldn't remember the first part of the conversation? Not at all. Edward smiled again and leaned down and pressed his lips against mine briefly. My heart thudded again and he chuckled, leaving his face near mine. His breath blew across my face, and any remote suspicion I had was long gone.

"Will you go appease Alice so we can get our cupcakes back?" Appease? That didn't sound so bad. Would it be bad? Of course not. Would what be bad? What was I doing again? All I did was nod. Edward pressed his lips against mine again. "Alice loves to play with humans… the things she couldn't do before… she promises to return the cupcakes if you play dress up for her." That didn't sound so bad. My head was swimming. I nodded vaguely. "She's in her room now. You remember where that is?"

"Of course…"

"Do you remember what we just talked about," he asked skeptically.

"Not really…" All I heard was his soft chuckle, and then his cold lips were against mine once more. I kissed him. Of course I kissed him. I held onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck and crawling closer until he pushed me away and reminded me to breathe. Still in a daze, I got up and teetered out of Emmett's room – when had I gone in there? I hardly remembered.

Alice's room was never hard to find. I was already at her door when my head cleared. I realized I had just agreed to let Alice play makeover in exchange for cupcakes. Why couldn't we just go buy more? I was _not_ about to go let Alice-

"Bella!" Alice had opened her door and she was smiling sweetly. Oh crap. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. I turned away from her but her stone hand had already grabbed my upper arm. "Bella, you promised Edward…" of course she would know. I couldn't believe this!

"That doesn't count! He was cheating…" I pleaded with her. Alice just shook her head, smiling.

"Please, Bella? For me? I'll give you the cupcakes back…" I think I had a look of terror on my face because Alice suddenly looked concerned. "I'm not going to eat you or anything, sheesh. Now come on in." Before I could protest, Alice dragged me into her room.

"Stupid, Cheating Vampire!" I yelled; I knew Edward would hear me. I swear I heard a ghostly chuckle right before Alice's door closed behind me, the click of the lock signifying my doom. She just smiled at me sweetly.

"Principle, right?" With a bell-like laugh that sounded far more menacing than it should have, she towed me toward the bathroom. God help me.


	6. Resolution

Haha! It's finished! I realize it was a quick update, but I had the idea and needed to write it. So I did. Then I uploaded it. And it sat in my documents for a while. And I felt like I was being mean by not posting it. So here it is, the conclusion to the epic Cupcake miniseries. This was pretty fun to write. Thanks for hanging with me. This is momentous. I have _never_ ever, ever finished a multi-part story before. Ever. In any fan fiction genre. That's why I was so eager to stick to oneshots with my _Twilight_ stories. But yeah. I finished it! I want cake now. Hooray! Thank you again for reading, and please let me know how you liked the ending, ect. Love you all!!

Cupcakes, part six

By Ren

Ridiculous. That was how I looked. Absolutely ridiculous. Alice was mental. She might have been stuck in the asylum for her visions, but I wanted to send her back for her next crazy scheme.

I glared at myself in the mirror. An hour. It had been an hour. How much longer was she going to hold me here? I sat perched on a stool in front of the long mirror of Alice's bathroom. All I could do was glare at my reflection as she bustled around me, practically exploding with joy. I could only begin to wonder what visions she was seeing.

The first thing to disappear – along with my dignity, of course – had been my clothing. My adored jeans and worn t-shirt were in a pile on the floor, along with (much to my embarrassment) my panties and bra. Apparently, Alice wanted a _full_ makeover.

After a terrible argument that I had lost, Alice had stuffed me into one of those super-expensive, super-sexy lace things that made me look a full cup-size larger and gave me cleavage. I won't mention what panties she had for me.

Said new cleavage was now lining the hem of the plunging v-neck of the sapphire cocktail dress she had me in. It was halter-top styled, synched around the waist and appeared as though it were cut into shreds around my thighs. The layered, shredded-like material ended just above my knees, and swished when I walked. Alice had produced a pair of black peep-toe heels which I had vehemently refused. I had won that argument, only after Alice foresaw me falling down the stairs and breaking my leg. Again. She had settled for a cute pair of black flats.

After I had been tucked into the dress – I didn't even want to know who had made it or how much it had cost – she had launched in to doing my makeup. A soft liquid foundation, a brush-over with powder, and a highlight on my cheeks with some blusher. She took out a menacing looking pen, and when I balked she just scowled.

"Bella, I'm way safer with eyeliner than you are."

I had just defiantly closed my eyes and let her line them with the soft, grey color. She powder-dusted my eyelids with some soft blue eye shadow, and when I opened them again she fanned out the lashes with thickening mascara. I had to admit, Alice could make me look pretty.

So as I sat, Alice added a bit of red to my lips before setting it down. Finally. We had exhausted all forms of makeup and she couldn't possibly have anything more to do to me. Gleefully, I hopped up.

"Sit back down, I'm not through yet." Alice was hovering over something in the corner and didn't even glance up. Woefully, I sat back down. My butt was starting to go numb from sitting.

"What else is there," I whined. She giggled softly and turned back to face me. I felt the blood rush from my face.

"Oh Bella, we'll have to put more blush on you if you keep turning into a ghost on me, or… maybe it's better that way," she mused and started wiping off my blush, but I only had eyes for what she was holding in her other hand.

"Alice… put… that… away…" Alice pouted and looked at the barrel curling iron in her hands.

"Bella, you know I'm way safer with this than anyone else."

"Alice, when have you ever curled hair before?" I nodded pointedly at her own spikey halo around her head. Hardly room for curling. Alice pursed her lips.

"Regardless, you're not leaving until I volumize your hair."

"If that's what you want to call it," I muttered, slumping over. Humming a song I didn't recognize, Alice got to work with my hair. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. Then I counted to fifteen. I was halfway to twenty when Alice spoke.

"Done!" My eyes opened in surprise; it had always taken Renee forty-five minutes to do my hair, and that was when I was younger and had much less.

I hardly recognized the girl in the mirror. She looked… beautiful. Brunette locks were coiled around her face and bounded down her shoulders. The sapphire color of her dress made her skin look pale, especially since there was no more blusher on her cheeks. Bright red lips stood out on her contrasting skin and only her dark eyes gave her away as human. That girl couldn't be me. I almost looked… like them. I was almost as beautiful as Alice, or Edward even. In my own way, of course.

"Here," Alice's bell-like voice tinkled in my ear and I tore my gaze away from the mirror to look at her. Offered in one hand was a plate of unfrosted cupcakes, still in mint condition. In her other hand was the remaining batter.

"The cupcake tray?"

"Emmett hid it in the cupboard before he brought the cupcakes to me." I nodded mutely and slowly took the items from her, careful not to get anything on the pretty dress. Alice escorted me to the door and opened it. As quickly as I could, I slipped out of her room and went to the stairs. I really was glad I had won the fight about the heels. Third step from the bottom, I slipped, but managed to catch myself amazingly. Landing on my feet, I ran into the kitchen.

Rather, I ran into something solid. And cold. I felt cold hands on my bare arms pry me away. In an instant, the cupcakes were whisked from my hands. My mind started functioning in time to see Edward turn back to face me after setting them on the counter. He just stayed there, staring. His eyes went from my shoes up to my face. By the time his eyes met mine, I was blushing crimson. Slowly, a crooked smile played across his features. Leisurely, he stretched out his arms for me. Gratefully, I bounded into them, crashing into his chest and wrapping my arms around his torso. I felt his solid arms close around my thin frame. His lips pressed into my hair and I felt him take in a deep breath.

"You look… delicious." He chuckled softly into the top of my head when my heart spazzed and my cheeks blushed brightly. "You smell delicious, too," he murmured softly before lowering his head. His lips brushed against my cheek. Instinctively, I turned my face to kiss his lips, but he moved away. I pouted. He chuckled, then kissed my throat gently. Again, my heart flip-flopped in my chest.

"Kiss me," I whispered to him. Within a second, his lips had trailed up and found mine. Such pretty stone lips. I don't recall when I ended up with my back against the pantry door and Edward's body against mine, but I didn't mind. I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck, my fingers lacing with his hair. One of his hands held my face; the other was on my waist and stealthily moving lower. His lips parted slightly and lifted off of mine briefly. I took the opportunity to breathe before he kissed me again. His scent was intoxicating, my whole room was spinning. I was glad I was leaning against the door – I might not still be standing if I weren't.

"Geeze you two, get a room!" Edward's lips were torn from mine as he turned his upper body, snarling at Emmett. I just stayed crunched against the door, unable to move, beet red. That's when I realized what position I was in. Edward had untied the top part of my dress and the loose straps had slid off my shoulders. Fortunately, the gown was fitted enough through the bosom to stay up. Sometime in our kiss, his wandering hand had hitched my right leg up onto his hip and was holding it there. His other hand had slid off of my face and now held my left wrist against the door. I don't think I could have turned redder.

After Emmett had breezed through the kitchen lightly, murmuring "sexy Bella" on the way, Edward turned back to me. I don't think he expected the position we were in either; his eyes widened slightly and he looked a bit ashamed. I was sure he'd be blushing if he could. Gently, he first set my leg down and released my wrist. Wordlessly, he tugged me from the door and spun me around, quickly retying the top of the dress. Before I could turn back to face him, his cold hands grabbed my waist and pulled my back against his front. I felt his cold lips at my ear sending shivers down my spine.

"You do look beautiful, though," he murmured softly, his velvety voice seductive. I just continued to get redder. He released me and wandered reluctantly over to the cupcakes.

I went to the oven and started it back up again while Edward re-mixed the batter to remove any clumps that had appeared. I'll admit it took me much longer to start the oven than it took him to declump the batter, all point-oh-three seconds of Edward's whisking. Stupid vampire.

With the oven warming up, I set more paper liners into the tray we had retrieved from the pantry and he spooned the last of the batter into them again. I had guessed wrongly earlier; we only had thirty-six. Not that it mattered.

Once the oven had warmed up, Edward gracefully deposited the cupcakes into the furnace. While the last batch was baking, I hunted down the remains of our icing that Emmett hadn't used to redecorate the Volvo. The first two sets of cupcakes were plenty cool enough to ice. Edward picked up the spatula, and I held out the tub of vanilla icing. He spread, I sprinkled.

On occasion, he would flick icing at me, much to my terror. Each time, I was terrified it would ruin Alice's pretty dress. And each time, Edward's perfect aim hit my face or my arm, never touching the fabric. Finally, I used my finger to wipe a particularly large chunk of icing from my arm. Reaching up, I smacked it right on his face. His lovely ocher eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed deviously.

"You have to clean that up, you know," he purred.

"Oh do I?" He only nodded. I pushed the nearly-finished cupcakes aside and crawled up onto the counter. I turned and sat facing him and reached for him. I grabbed his shirt and tugged. Edward obliged me.

"With pleasure." I tilted my head back and leaned up to his face. My lips touched his icing-covered lips and my tongue made quick work of the icing. When the icing was gone along with the danger of my tongue being accidentally cut by something venomous and sharp, his face relaxed into the kiss, his arms snaking around my body. I scooted closer on the countertop, my legs wrapping around him, but I didn't care. He kissed me and I kissed him.

I was so absorbed with Edward that I barely heard the door open and close. I did, however, hear Emmett's voice from the other room.

"Don't go in there, Esme. Bella's decorating Edward's cupcakes." I chuckled softly against Edward's growl and just pulled him closer. So I was, so I was.


	7. Epilogue

Mmm so I lied. Sorry guys. But you love me for it. I added more, after all. NOW I'm finished with it.

Come sit in Emmett's room while he recounts the last few days since Bella decorated Edward's cupcakes. A little one-shot that takes place after Cupcakes concluded. Emmett muses to you, dear human reader, about all the things that make Edward tick, invariably arriving at the conclusion that Edward's sexual tension equals anger each time in a slightly spastic manner. No, it's not supposed to make sense, this is Emmett. He says whatever comes to mind. No, there's no plot. This is Emmett. Ha. Short piece. Let me know how you like it, since it's my first from Emmett's POV.

Cupcakes: Epilogue

By: Ren

I had to admit, as much crap as Rose had given me for it, it had been pretty fun. I mean, come on. Edward was _baking_, for crying out loud. Yeah, sure Bella bakes, but it was really fun to imagine Edward in a pink apron. ….He hadn't liked that thought much. In fact, he had pelted me with an extra cupcake for it. Now, my dear humans, you might think being pelted with a cupcake wouldn't be so bad. …It isn't, if a human throws it. Edward threw the cupcake with enough force… well; let's just say if I had been Bella, I would have had a cupcake in my spleen.

Naturally, I had to return fire. It wasn't fair that Edward attacked me with a defenseless cupcake. Bella hadn't been happy we were using her cupcakes as ammunition. She counted the remaining three dozen and coddled them off to save them for the next school day. Since we'd had no fresh cupcakes, Edward picked up the limp one I had chucked at him. He contemplated it, and then threw it back. This time I was ready and sidestepped. Unfortunately, it hit Rosalie instead.

Do you see where this is going? I did, but a second too late. Rose didn't know who to be more furious at: Edward for throwing the damn thing or me for getting out of the way. Like she expected me to know she was back there. Edward would've, and he had thrown it anyway. She ended up taking it out on me. Not that I minded, but I'll spare you the details of my… "punishment." It wouldn't fall into the "PG 13" category. Edward needs some of that. I wonder if Bella's in to… …no, probably not. Although she could probably swipe a pair of handcuffs from Charlie…

Did I mention Esme threw a fit about the cupcake stuck to the wall? Edward took the heat for that one, and it wasn't the pleasant kind of punishment I had.

It took me for_ forever _to get the damn cabbage out of Edward's precious Volvo. Seriously. Okay so yeah, I can hose out my jeep and he… can't. But still! Still smells kinda funny though. He'll get over it.

Bella has this really cute way of blushing furiously over just about… well, anything. If I say 'don't trip' she'll blush like mad and invariably end up tripping. It's hysterical. Edward hates me for it, but he's just an old stiff. A hundred years of pent up sexual tension would do that to you. Thankfully, I don't have that problem. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Bella blushes every time I ask, but she glows like a beet when anyone talks about anything remotely related to sex, so I can't use her blushing as any kind of judge. Edward swears he hasn't and actually punched me the first time I pressed the issue. He has a bit of a temper. Especially if Bella's involved. He needs to lose the tension.

I can't wait for her to be a vampire. We can play, and like, really _play._ She can play thunderball with us, run with us, have snowball fights and everything! It'll be great. She's like the kid sister I always wanted. Rumor has it though she wants to arm wrestle me once she's changed. Like, right after she's changed, when her own blood is still potent. No way in hell I'm arm wrestling a newborn. I can't lose to her. Even if it is because she's a newborn, they'll never let me live it down, and never suddenly has a much lengthier meaning.

So personally I thought the cupcakes tasted nasty. Not that I ate them by will, mind you. It was more like Edward shoved them down my throat. Bella assured me they tasted fine while trying to keep a straight face. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, choking on the damn fluffballs like that. Edward was sure smug.

But then he's smug all the time. Maybe because he knows he can't get any. I mean, that's how everything goes, right? When you can't get lucky, you act like you're cool in every other manner to make up for it. Edward denies this point violently, –literally – by the way, but sometimes I wonder. All that sexual tension has to go somewhere. He sleeps in the same bed with her night after night, but that's all. If he wanted, he could watch her in the shower and she'd never know. But Edward wouldn't do that. He's too… too… something. I watch Rose in the shower all the time. Nothing wrong with it. …Except I'm invited, and we usually do more than watch. That's beside the point. I don't think Bella would mind if Edward spontaneously joined her in the shower. Maybe she would.

Regardless, I do believe Rosalie is calling. It's shower time. Can't keep her waiting.


End file.
